Curtain Call
by Destiny Willowleaf
Summary: The curtains close, as they always do. He's in his seat, cheering on the performance as usual. In his mind, he misses the screams of the audience and the warmth and brightness of the spotlight. Now, though, it's time for someone else to take center stage.


**Sometimes just going back to the basics of writing is the best. While I'd** _ **love**_ **to continue any one of the many ongoing projects I have, I'm just a lot better at short stories than long adventures, which is a skill I need to improve upon.**

 **A couple quick notes: Everyone in this story appears as they do in their games, or at least in some game they have appeared in, and they retain most of their powers here, if they have any to begin with. Vasert is an OC of mine. The nicknames "Kerdi" and "Keeni" were mostly just thought up on the fly for similar names in the Kirby/Keeby style, because Red and Green don't really have official names like Yellow as Keeby.**

('.')('.')('.')

" _Well, I want to control Pop Star!"_

 _The mechanical clock understood his heart's desire, and granted the jester immense power. This was always his favorite part, and the most difficult to pull off._

 _The lights faded into darkness, leaving only Marx illuminated. His eyes almost fully closed, open enough to see what he was doing but the audience could not. The golden and glittering wings seemingly growing out of his back, panels refracting colors off into the audience. His ball was kicked somewhere far into the wings, completely out of sight. This was his moment._

 _Lights turning back up, spotlight on both of them, Marx turned to face Kirby, grinning like a maniac. He did a quick check over the costume, a crazed laugh growing louder each second. Then his laughter ceased, silent before growing loud again._

" _WOW! It worked." Marx's own voice sounded foreign to him, even after months of practice. He looked Kirby dead in the eye, and spoke in his prior pitch. "The Sun and Moon are fighting. Go find Nova!" His voice dropped out of that act again. "All of my plans worked! Popstar is all MINE! Now, I can do anything!"_

 _Kirby's face was filled with pained, broken expression. Even though he was just acting – both of them were, really – his expression looked so real and it almost threw Marx off. Almost._

 _Turning his back to Kirby, Marx chortled, "I must be going now." The cackling returned. "Hahahahahahahahah…" Marx darted off-stage, lights turning back down to prepare for the last two scenes._

 _Their battle went off without a hitch, though Marx knew some of those marks would take a week or so before they started fading. On both of them._

 _Kirby got in the final blow, and Marx let out his ear-piercing screech. Half the audience had to cover their ears and even then faces were contorted with pain._

 _So he may have gone a bit overkill, but that was fine. He disappeared in a flash of light, seemingly dying._

 _The curtains closed, and after one final bow, the show was over._

 _The audience roared with applause. It rung in his ears for days, breathless with the pure invigoration and excitement the cast had been able to bring. The majesty of it all, from Dyna Blade's shimmering wings to the real feeling of the Halberd Cruiser. The resonance of the music as Kirby traveled and fought a plethora of enemies. The simple memories of the Green Greens, the energy of the Gourmet Race, and the awe-inspiring battle themes._

Marx stared longingly at the framed and signed photo of the cast from that show. It had been a blast to work with them throughout the whole production, and filling more than one role most of the time.

Kirby's career had skyrocketed after that point, with friends Dedede and Meta Knight never far behind. He had possessed a fairly large following before that with the so-called "Dark Matter Trilogy", but _Kirby Super Star_ had been a hit.

Marx… not so much. He had been the perfect actor to fill in that role. A small, seemingly innocent being – with no arms to boot, making himself out to be a sob story – turning into a villain so great that Kirby had to call in backup to help defeat. The choreography of the attacks and the design of the wings had all been huge points towards the outcome of the show. When they remade it a few years later, he was able to don those wings again and come back once more, a soulless shell of his former self.

But then it was over for him.

Sure, he'd still go and see the shows sometimes. After all, the group funding and producing Kirby's shows – HAL Labs, or something – knew what they were doing and the best ways to present the adventures for the crowds to gaze upon.

Obviously, some shows were more successful than others. It always happened, no matter what group you were in. But with Kirby, the less favorable shows were oft-forgotten by the next production, leaving the bad memories in the dust. _Amazing Mirror_ had been a surprising success, and from what he had heard, one of the more difficult shows to pull together. People like Kirby weren't just found on the street, after all, but with enough time and luck, four others to fill the roles were found and recruited. Keeby – the yellow one – had already been part of the group for a while, but Kerdi and Keeni – the red and green puffs, if he was remembering correctly – had supposedly been a challenge to convince and socialize into the team. He never caught the names of the actors for the nicknamed "Shadow Kirby" or Meta Knight's mirror, but he wouldn't have been shocked if they were just as difficult.

While the producers _said_ they would keep in touch, Marx had heard the stories from the other actors cast as the villains: they use you once or twice, three if you're lucky, and then you're out of the picture. Dedede and Meta Knight were a pair of rare cases, as they had been there since almost the very start and were sometimes Kirby's allies in the fight.

It made sense. MK and Triple D were actually fun to hang around during practice. Dedede, being Dedede, was sometimes a bit overbearing, but he was nice enough and especially so to the Waddle Dees working in the show. Maybe it was because their names were similar, or maybe he just had selective compassion. MK was one of those people who constantly stayed in character even on break, but that didn't make him any less cool. Most of the time he was just sitting and reading and didn't seem to mind others crowding around to read along. Or maybe he was just not saying anything out of respect.

Marx was never really sure with either of them. But when he was with the cast, he was the one who knew how to keep a smile on when everything seemed to be spiraling downhill and out of control. It seemed like they enjoyed his company. Even when in the back of his mind, Marx _knew_ he probably wasn't going to stay on forever, he wanted to believe he was gonna be with the crew for the next show. Dedede, Meta Knight, some Waddle Dee kid with a bandana...

Not him, though. He was out of the picture onstage as a new guy was scouted out and brought in. It happened over and over, hoping that the phone was gonna ring and they'd call him back for another big show. Sure, he got called back for that revisit... thing a few years back, and it had been a hit, but then he was out of the spotlight again.

Things had been progressing as normal for him since. Odd jobs here and there, sometimes filling in as an acting coach at a local school to help some of the kids shoot for their dreams, but he was mostly left in silence.

 _RING RING RING!_

Marx shot up from where he was laying out on the floor and rushed to the ringing phone.

HAL Labs.

He frantically answered the phone and absorbed every word the person on the other end said. He was being called back to join the group once more!

...as an acting coach for the villain of the upcoming production. His name was Mangolia or something, but the name fell on deaf ears. Not knowing why, Marx agreed to the position and hung up.

He had done the _exact same thing only three years ago._ Sure, he had already played the villain a couple times and he might be suspected as one if he was onstage again, but from the little he had been told, this guy was just an updated version of himself.

Groaning and resent building in his body, Marx dragged himself into the theatre. He wound up discovering the new guy chatting with Kirby, Dedede, Meta Knight, and some Dee with a bandana. The bandana was familiar, but he couldn't really place why. A few Dees scampered by, greeting him as they lugged around equipment and what appeared to be the basics for props. He returned the gesture like nothing had changed over the years. Dees didn't care if someone hadn't been part of the show for almost a decade. The Dees were the stagehands, and good at their job. They didn't complain, they were paid well enough, and they were just a nice bunch to be around and lift the mood. Marx made his way through the seats and to the stage, following the path he took back when he was really part of the show. It was familiar enough, with new drawings and show memorabilia lining the hallways the actors would take. Tickets, photos, posters... all held a scent of nostalgic greatness, and it felt like they were welcoming him back home to the stage.

"I take it you're Mangolia?" Marx's question drew the small group's attention out of the conversation and to him.

"MARX!" Kirby exclaimed, dashing over to engulf Marx in a hug. "I didn't you were a part of this!"

"I'm not," Marx explained. "On stage, at least." Marx took in Mangolia for the first time face-to-face. He seemed so much more causal here than in the press photos Marx had unearthed before arrival, but that was always the case. Make-up did wonders to fake a face. He was wearing a green robe, covered by a predominately white cape. His hands were covered by orange gloves, and a white scarf with an interwoven green belt covered his mouth. His hood was down, revealing the cones on his head to be tan horns sticking up. Bright yellow eyes on a brown face scanned the jester, confusion easy to read even if his mouth was covered.

"I'm Marx, also known as the guy that's gonna teach you how to be a villain," Marx explained. "Nice to meetcha."

There was a beat of silence. Maybe it would be less awkward with hands. Which Marx didn't have.

"...Magolor."

"What?"

"My name is Magolor, not Mangolia," he explained. Magolor's voice was soft but strong, and seemed to be filled with wisdom. Marx had no idea how people like him pulled it off, but he came off as one of those people who were seemingly shy but would lash out in a storm should danger arrive.

"Cool, now that introductions are out of the way…" Marx faced the Dee who had taken to hiding behind Dedede. "Who's that?" _Because you seem so familiar._

"Bandana is one of our allies." Meta Knight's explanation sent chills down Marx's spine. The guy was still as cool as he was creepy and mysterious. "I would have thought you would recognize him."

Marx took a few steps closer and got a good look at the Dee. Brown eyes stared into purple, a blue bandana tied around his head and a spear through a gap between the fabric and the fuzz-like fur of the Dee. Marx glanced over the Dee again, looking for anything that might have told him the Dee had been around before, when he noticed a small scar poking out from under the bandana.

Wait a minute…

Marx again wished he had hands to facepalm with. This was the kid that was following Dedede around during the _Ultra_ show! The scar had been from when he had tried to fight Kirby – during a run-through for the Revenge act – and Kirby accidentally cut him slightly with the tip of his sword.

"You get to be a part of the show now, eh, kid?" Marx flashed a grin. "Nice to see another familiar face around here, to be honest."

Bandana nodded enthusiastically, adding "It's nice to see you again to!" in a quiet voice. The kid was shy most of the time, but give him the spotlight and he's as loud as anyone else. Somehow. Without a mouth. Sometimes it was just better not to question things.

Magolor seemed confused. "You were part of this before?"

"Yeah. I was a major part of the Super Star shows," Marx explained. "That's the reason I'm training you. To play the role I had in those shows."

Magolor scrunched his eyes, seemingly in thought, before opening them with… _sadness?_

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Stealing your role."

Marx was silent for a moment, before shrugging it off. "It's not a big deal. I've still come to the more recent shows and besides, you can't keep using the same guy over and over again or else people get bored of it!" Marx smiled at the new actor, but it was a fake smile _and he knew it was a fake smile_ but keeping confidence up was important.

"R-really?" Geez, this guy was unsure of himself. "Then I guess… we should start practicing?"

"Not so fast, Magolor." The director, a Broom Hatter named Vasert, came out from one of the dressing rooms. "You must get to know your cast mates better before beginning to act, or else they may mistake acting for your true emotions, and that creates conflicts between cast mates and the next thing you know the show is called off."

As Vasert continued talking, Marx's mind began to wander back to his first day with the group. The amount of information she could relay in short time spans seemed to never cease to amaze, and yet she still spoke slow enough that everyone could keep up. It was easy enough to tell her apart from other Hatters – or even just in a large crowd – due to her green-starred witch's hat and blue broom, hole in the handle for a red ribbon tied through. She was the best kind of director he could have asked for, with encouraging words and...

"Marx!" Marx snapped out of his thoughts, eyes snapping back into focus as Vasert pushed her broom into his face.

...her skill at getting people back into focus.

"Alright, team! Listen up!" Vasert gestured at each member of the main cast with the ribbon end of her broom. "As you know, Magolor ain't the only new kid on the block, so if we're gonna make any progress with acting, you're all gonna need to be friends. Learn a bit about each other and practice actually acting, too." Then she pointed at few of the crew members, set apart by black hats and armbands. "I'm gonna need you guys to get started on props and costume work." She continued to go around, splitting the "little guys" as she called them off into different groups to get to know one another and run through battle practices. The "big guys" of the main cast were already directed to go off and practice in their own group, but they hadn't moved. Finally, Vasert pointed at Marx. "And you…" She paused.

She had no idea where to put him, probably. "And me…?"

"Go with the cast. Watch Magolor's expressions so you have a starting place when you're helping him."

Everyone stood around awkwardly for a moment, no one wanting to be the first to move.

"Get moving!" Vasert's order left the center of the stage barren except for her, and a last passing glance told Marx she was sweeping away the dirt and dust the cast and crew had trodden in.

/\/\/\  
\/\/\/

The group went up to the second level of the theatre, Kirby leading the team. Marx knew it was his normal practice space, and whenever he shared the spotlight, Kirby also shared the area. It had a few beanbags scattered around, and a large pastel-blue rug taking up most of the center of the area. Supposedly it made the floor creak less when they were walking around on it, but from Marx's experience it still sounded the same from below. Kirby fell into the pink bag while Dedede chose to sit in the red one. Bandana sat between the two, while Marx, Magolor, and Meta Knight stayed standing, or floating in Magolor's case. Sometime during their ascension up the stairs, Magolor had pulled his hood back over his horns and head, leaving yellow eyes shining out of brown.

"So… what now?" It was clear to see Magolor was wary of the surroundings. Marx sighed. How did this guy ever get to be a part of Kirby's shows?

"Well, Vasert said we should get to know you better, so I guess you should tell us about yourself?" Kirby suggested.

"It's not a formal interview," Marx added. The same thing had happened with him, and he learned quickly that Kirby didn't stick much with formalities. Ever.

"So Mags, why'd you want to be a part of this anyway?" Kirby asked.

"Jus' saying, you don't seem like the show biz type," Dedede added. "Unless you were shooting to be a props guy."

"I've always found the stage a fascinating place," Magolor began to explain. "It always seemed like another world entirely, where people can be free of the realities holding them back and instead can live in someone else's shoes for a bit. Even if the show itself has two people paired off against each other, you can still see the friendship and companionship the actors share with the smallest of actions or the direction of their eyes. And then there's the crew's role with the props, the lighting, the music…" Magolor let out a dreamy sigh. "It just brings that world to life, you know?"

"Definitely," Marx replied. "Sometimes I'm still amazed by how they pulled of Nova and my wings for the end of Super Star. It took _hours_ of practice to get those things right, and I remember the days on end with the prop guys painting and detailing that clockwork cat."

He heard a sharp intake of breath. Magolor's hands flew over his scarf-covered mouth, eyes wide in recognition. "Wait, that was you?"

"Who was me?"

"At the end of _Kirby Super Star_. You were the one with the wings?"

Now it was Marx's turn to be confused. "That was me. I said it earlier, didn't I?"

"No… all you said was that you were a major part in the show," Magolor quickly explained. "But _you're_ Marx!"

"What about it?" Marx's energy had begun to inflate. What did this kid know?

"You were the one who inspired me to start trying to be a part of big shows like this."

Silence.

 _Marx_ inspired him to be in the shows? Not the dashing hero, the mysterious knight, or the royal king, but the _villain_? Marx shook his head quickly. Was he dreaming?

Magolor took a breath and began to rapidly explain. "I remember seeing the Ultra show a few years back. There were people around me who were complaining that nothing had changed from the last show, but it was amazing! The first battle between Dedede and Kirby, the face-off against Dyna Blade, the duel on the Halberd, the cave travels, the revenge plot and the music that played in the confrontation between King Dedede and Kirby, the entire Wishes act, your return…" Magolor's voice was failing him, so he paused momentarily for a breath before continuing. "I was in the back of the theatre, but I still remember everything onstage so clearly. I just hadn't really heard your name before now, because you never _actually_ said it in the show, you know? It took me a while before I found your name, but by then you seemed to have left the world of the stage behind."

Marx didn't know what to say. This newbie saw his last big act and wanted to join the team because of it. Was it fate or just karma?

"Well, it will be interesting to work alongside someone who wishes to follow in Marx's footsteps," Meta Knight said, breaking the tension. "Should we begin the exercises?"

Nods and a murmured agreement. The trio in the bags got up, and the group moved more to the center of the lofted area. Kirby detoured off to grab a hat with paper slips inside before rejoining them.

"So how does this work?" Magolor asked.

"Please pick a paper piece!" Kirby held out the hat to Magolor. He reached in and grabbed one, reading it over.

"H-"

Kirby's hands flew over to where Magolor's mouth would be. "Don't say it out loud!"

Magolor let out a muffled apology, removing the pink ball's hands from his face. "So do I act it out?"

Meta Knight gave him a swift nod. Magolor read the paper again, before tucking it away. Eyes shut, a deep breath in, and when his eyes reopened, acute anger immediately obvious. Magolor stayed silent as he floated over to Marx. Even without legs to create sharp, resonating footsteps, the jester could still feel the rage resonating off of the new actor.

"Why." Magolor's voice was soft, filled with rage instead of wisdom. The anger within his eyes was still ever present, but a sense of pride also lingered deep within. "Why would you take everything I've ever worked for?"

Marx glanced to Kirby and snatched a paper out of the hat. _Fear, huh?_ Marx let his guard drop, and his voice rise. "I-I-I had no intention to ruin everything!"

A guttural growl emerged from within the cloaked actor, before he lunged at Marx. "I LOST EVERYTHING!" The jabs continued as Magolor picked up the pace, shouting and tears just waiting to fall down his face. "You told me I could be a star. You promised that you would do everything in your power to help me, and yet when the time came, you left me for dead!"

Marx's eyes were wide, real fear creeping in. The kid knew where to strike to hurt. "I didn't know what had happened! I was sure you were going to be fine! Can't we resolve this peacefully?" Magolor lunged again, pinning Marx down.

"No." The calm returned to his voice, but it was an eerie calmness, one of a contemplating villain rather than the voice of someone who just tried to kill another being. "I want you to feel the pain I did, being laughed at because I was a useless fraud who had no place on the stage."

Then Magolor suddenly let go of Marx and brushed off his cloak. Marx righted himself, bewildered.

"How was that?"

The rest of the group was silent. Dedede's mouth was hanging open, while the other three were just staring wide-eyed at the scene that had just played out in front of them.

"Is everything alright up there?" Vasert called. Her voice was level as always, but when things got intense, she made sure to check up on the situation.

"Just practicing!" Kirby replied, trying to wave over the banister, before using a beanbag as a step stool so Vasert could see him. "No one's hurt!"

"Good. Keep it up." With that, Vasert got back to the rest of the cast and crew, leaving the small group in silence again.

"Hatred, right?" Marx finally spoke up. Magolor gave him an enthusiastic nod. "Mine was fear. Looked like they played pretty well together, huh?"

"I guess." Magolor had reverted back to his more shy and quiet demeanor. "I'm sorry if I actually hurt you."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Marx assured. "Where'd you get those skills, anywho?"

"It's useful to have fear on your side when you're smaller and weaker than others." Magolor replied, eyes lost in thought. It was clearly a touchy topic, so Marx turned to the others.

"Who's next?"

/\/\/\  
\/\/\/

The group went through a number of practice rounds, some even in silence, demonstrating different emotions and different ways to get those feelings across to their audience. Magolor was completely engaged in the proceedings, viewing each set of emotions as its own show. In the meantime, Marx had returned to the stage area and was able to locate Magolor's application to the show to read up on the kid he was supposed to train.

"'Magolor, age unknown.' Well that's useful," Marx muttered. "'From the land of Halcandra. Adept in mechanical aspects, aspiring to being an actor or just getting involved with the Dreamland Shows.'"

Marx continued to read through Magolor's applications, though it came across as more of a profile than anything else. Information about likes and dislikes, skills currently in his arsenal and others that he hopes to build, and even show connections had all been documented.

"Marx? Where'd you go?" Kirby's voice called out from above. Marx looked up to see stubby pink hands were just barely visible over the railing that prevented people from falling off and shattering bones.

"Down here," Marx replied. "You need me for something?"

"We're done going through the warmups and we need your help." Kirby disappeared back behind the railing leaving Marx to saunter up the stairs again.

"Hey, Marx!" Vasert's voice drew Marx away from the staircase. The director was holding bundles of paper. "Scripts. Since you're going up there anyway…"

Marx smiled. "On it." Vasert revealed a simple bag, with a single string to hold the bag's components for non-armed creatures. The papers were swiftly placed and secured in the bag, leaving Marx to carefully make his way up the steps

"Why did you need my help, specifically?" Marx asked upon reaching the top, speech impaired by the string in his mouth.

"Whatcha got there?" Kirby completely dropped his question and instead took one of the scripts. "Scripts already?!"

Marx glared at Kirby, but sat down closer to the center as everyone grabbed a copy. He was pretty shocked too. Most of the time scripts didn't arrive until a few days or so into basic practice. Magolor skimmed through the pages, before he slowed down and looked between the page and Marx.

"I guess I really _am_ the bad guy," Magolor sighed. "I thought you were joking earlier."

Marx shook his head. "Nope. Like I said, you're playing the role I did, but with a different twist, I think."

"There are times when everyone plays the role of the villain," Meta Knight added, placing a reassuring hand on Magolor's head, causing the latter to turn slightly to look at the more experienced performer. "Whether the character we become to the audience truly _is_ evil, or the idea of 'evil' was due to a misunderstanding, a single people can play the roles of heroes, villains, and bystanders in the lives of many different people, or even different roles within the same life. It is up to you and your actions that determine who you remain as after the curtain falls."

Magolor gave the knight a sharp nod. "I think I get it now."

The issue resolved, the cast actually began reading through the script together, and day one of practice had gotten underway.

/\/\/\  
\/\/\/

The whole cast practiced for months on end to get the show down to a science. There were weeks where the starts wouldn't see the outside world and the "little guys" would only sometimes see the real sun. Magolor had undergone multiple intense weeks of voice training to help him project more and develop a unique voice for when he revealed his true nature. The crew had worked tirelessly to create beautiful scenes and Magolor's ship, called the Lor Starcutter, which was even more high-tech than Nova was.

If he was being honest, Marx was a _little_ jealous. But his jealousies were always shoved aside when he was able to see the underlying excitement and joy Magolor's acting gave off. Even in his most serious moments, there were still the little gestures that told Marx his student was loving what he was doing. Everyone knew that it was in part due to the costume Magolor was able to wear. The cloak was trimmed with gear patterns, a tempered gold to coordinate with the deep blue and bright white of the rest of the cloak. The hood had been made with extra room to cover his horns were white-tipped and had a band of gold separating the white from the rest of the blue. His green scarf had been traded out for a blue one, and Magolor always seemed more confident in the show getup.

The day of the show came sooner than Marx would've liked, because once the show was over, he was back to being just another face that was once part of production.

Still, Marx wasn't going to miss the big day, so he got a seat so he would be able to see everything. He had already witnessed parts of the show from backstage, but the backstage was nothing compared to being in the audience and watching the whole show unfold. Even though he wasn't the one performing, his nerves were still on edge. His skills, both as actor and teacher, would be reflected in Magolor, and while both were confident in the success of Magolor's role, there was still some worry that something out of their control would go horribly wrong.

It seemed like an eternity before the show began.

The house lights went dim, the idle chatter ceased, and the curtains opened, stage lights coming to life as _Kirby's Return to Dreamland_ began.

/\/\/\  
\/\/\/

As the show went on, Marx couldn't help but smile. Everything they had practiced, from minute facial movements to the choreography of the fight scenes, all of the little pieces fell into place.

Upon collecting all of the Energy Spheres – shining, golden gears to power Magolor's ship – Kirby and friends returned to the ship proper to tell him.

"Magolor!" Kirby shouted.

He looked up from his computer. "Ah, Kirby and friends! How are you?"

"We found all the gears!" Bandana replied. Meta Knight and Dedede nodded to confirm, leaving Magolor momentarily speechless.

"Really? All of them?" Kirby nodded again. "Oh, man! I can't believe you found them all! Kirby, you _seriously_ rock!" Magolor gave the pink hero a hug, which the puff gladly returned.

"I'm so, so thankful for all of your help! High five, low five, all that," he continued, smiling brightly behind the scarf. Sure, no one could see his mouth, bur his eye lit up all the same. He went on to explain a short bit of the lore behind the Lor. His offhand remark about the clockwork stars caught both Kirby's group and Marx off-guard. He never remembered hearing or seeing those lines anywhere in the script... did he just forget?

"By the way, I knew about you long before our fateful meeting." The magician seemed to continue pulling out surprises.

"You did?" Kirby was astonished. It didn't seem faked either. What was going on?

"Kirby, the happy-go-lucky hero with the bottomless stomach." Kirby laughed at Magolor's description. Behind Kirby, Dedede and Meta Knight exchanged a look of 'Well you're not _wrong'_ before returning their attention to Magolor's little spiel.

"I even know somebody who knows you quite well! Even on this world, you're incredibly popular!" As he spoke it seemed as if Magolor momentarily locked eyes with Marx. No one else noticed, as far as he was aware. The moment disappeared as he continued to speak.

"There may even be some folks here who have fought with you before. If everybody would just get along, it would make things so much easier. Nothing good comes out of fighting." Magolor's voice fell quieter. There it was again. Magolor had always seemed more thankful than normal for the companionship and the general friendliness of the HAL Labs team, and that was reflected in the show proper.

"Magolor, I promise to be your friend!" Kirby said, determination and kindness radiating off of the puff. Magolor's eyes lit up, and it was easy to see his smile behind the scarf.

"Let's always stay friends, Kirby!"

/\/\/\  
\/\/\/

Kirby and his friends had just finished their battle against Landia, a quartet of dragons who held magical powers and a distaste for Magolor. The crown fell from the main head, and Magolor floated in. His microphone's sensitivity been turned down drastically, so he could be loud and heard through the device without rupturing ears.

"Bravo, Kirby. You're truly earned your reputation as a hero. Your help defeating Landia was invaluable," Magolor told the group. While his voice was as chipper as ever, there was still a more sinister undertone creeping in.

He reached down a picked up the crown previously upon Landia's head. "Ah… at long last, it's mine!" It has been a tricky procedure trying to balance the excitement, insanity, and sinister tones in his voice for that line. It never helped when the voice was just too far off and they were both laughing at the sounds that had come out of Magolor's mouth.

"The source of limitless power… the Master Crown!" Magolor placed the crown atop his head, voice having lost any sense of good. A bright light flashed, and Magolor was decked out in a much larger costume, causing him to have to float higher to prevent the fabric from trailing on the ground. The crowd was in shock. Magolor had seemed like such a good person, but here he was! Looking more like a villain than a hero.

"Obtaining this crown has been my ultimate goal all along!" Magolor shouted, cackling momentarily afterward.

All but Meta Knight were staring wide-eyed at their transformed friend, but Meta Knight had take a more defensive pose. According to the knight himself, his normal reaction would have been drawing his sword and instantly attacking the foe before him, but in this case they needed to listen to what Magolor had to say.

"What's with all the weird looks?" Magolor asked them, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Fine. Let me explain everything." Magolor pinned them all down with an unseen force, preventing their attack or escape as he spoke.

"I fought Landia by myself and lost. So I fled to Planet Popstar. That's when the thought struck me... I could have you defeat Landia for me! A stroke of genius, I know," Magolor laughed a little. Out of everything they had trained for, this was Magolor's big moment. "You even helped me repair my Starcutter." He turned to look Kirby in the eyes, a hint of his true self shining through the evil. "I really did appreciate that, by the way."

The hope spot was gone in a flash, as Magolor boomed, "Anyway… MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The time has come for your planet… No! The time has come for the ENTIRE UNIVERSE to bow down to me. And for being _such_ a big help in all of this," Magolor paused, gesturing to the surroundings. "Your planet gets to go first!"

Magolor swished his hand around, a cue for the light team to insert his portal. "Prepare to bow, Popstar! Welcome your new overlord!" With that, Magolor fled through the "portal" in the curtains and the portal shut with a flash.

"What do we do now?" Kirby whimpered. "I thought Magolor was our friend!"

Heavy footsteps drained out Kirby's train of thought, as Landia had come back, ready to join Kirby in taking down this new threat.

/\/\/\  
\/\/\/

The battle was intense. Both sides trading blows, trying to keep each other alive. Bandana was clinging to Dedede's backside and attacking in a tag-team formation instead of going it alone, while Meta Knight and Kirby had been darting around, trying to cause Magolor to lose his balance. Never close enough to actually hurt, but a few times were far closer than either party probably would've liked. Magolor's outfit had been slowly turning a deeper shade of red, fake blood staining the cloth. His eyes changed too, eventually a bright purple against a newly-white face. The scarf piece around his face was darkened, too, a sinister black when compared to the earlier white.

Magolor had almost been defeated. Kirby had obtained the power of the Ultra Sword, and was readying it against Magolor for one final blow. But Magolor had a trick up his sleeve, countering Kirby's sword with one of his own. The two were held in a deadlock, until Kirby pushed just a little bit harder, fracturing Magolor's sword and splitting the magician. All four of them deflated a bit, tired after the duel.

But Magolor wasn't gone yet.

There wasn't a scream, but after an explosion like that, Magolor's body was engulfed in blue flames, reviving him to fight more. Now his movements were not his own, being just a body for the crown to use to defeat Kirby.

He was weakly calling out for help, but not loud enough for any to hear. The only reason Marx knew was because it had been his suggestion to do it in the first place. As the fight went on, there were moments where Magolor seemed to be trying to regain control of his mind, the body seemingly splitting off in two different directions, but the moments never lasted long. Each time Kirby attacked, Magolor's voice grew weaker, attacks more frantic, until _Bandana Dee_ dealt the final blow. Magolor's scream was worse than Marx's own, and he faded away.

"Magolor?" Even though Kirby had just fought Magolor, and he knew Magolor was going to be alright – this was still just a show – there was still a trace of hope and betrayal in Kirby's voice. The production had gone out of its way to establish Kirby and Magolor forming a friendship, but it seemed as if the effort had been all for naught.

"He's gone…" Meta Knight whispered.

"Guys?" Dedede's voice called the others out of remorse. "We need to get outta here, fast!"

Landia's roar was heard throughout the theatre, the dragons rushing back in to save the heroes. The Lor, no longer under Magolor's control, opened a portal for the quartet to escape and allow them to return to dreamland. The curtains closed on the four smiling in a grassy field, applause erupting from the audience.

The front set of curtains reopened for the cast to bow as a song fittingly titled "Returning to Dreamland" played behind them. The audience cheered as always, seemingly even more so for Magolor as he reappeared onstage. The actor's eyes met with his mentor's again, and both smiled. They had made it through opening night, and everyone loved it. Sure, there were going to be other showings of the performance, but opening night always created the greatest memories.

In his mind, Marx thought nothing could ever top this show.

/\/\/\  
\/\/\/

In the time that passed, Marx saw a few more of Kirby's shows. Admittedly, they were pretty good, but he still liked Magolor's show the best.

Maybe he was biased.

Scratch that: he _was_ biased.

It didn't matter, though. Marx hadn't been called back to help out since, still just a member of the crowd and not someone on the stage.

It came as a surprise when he received a letter from Kirby, with the only contents being "Come to the Dreamland Central Theatre ASAP!" and a picture of Kirby himself.

"What have you got in store this time, little buddy?" Marx wondered aloud. The last time he was invited back it had been over the phone and he had spoken directly to Vasert herself. He shook the bad feeling away. "No harm in going."

Marx arrived around ten minutes later only to immediately bump into Kirby.

"You got my letter!"

"Yeah. Whatdya want?" Marx knew he sounded rude, but he was a little tired. He had woken up barely half an hour earlier at this point and still hadn't eaten anything.

"Follow me!" Kirby replied, dashing off backstage. Marx hurried after him, jumping steps to keep up with Kirby's quick pace.

Soon they were backstage, and a whole slew of people were there too. A few familiar faces here and there, but a large number of new people, too.

"Who are they?" Marx asked.

Kirby smiled. "Part of the biggest show we've ever done."

"Don't tell me you sent a letter to me so I could see a large cast."

Kirby was about to say something, when a different voice called out.

"Marx?"

The jester in question turned to see someone he never thought he would really see again. Decked out in the blue attire from his show, could it really be…

"Magolor?"

The two stared at each other, before the realization dawned on Marx.

"You're part of this?" Magolor's joyous nod sent a smile on Marx's face.

"It's great to see you again! How've you been?"

"Pretty good, actually," Magolor replied. "After the whole Return show, they wanted me to stay as a design guy."

"Right," Marx remembered seeing Magolor talking with the production team to help put together some of the big set pieces. "I'm glad you're having fun."

"Who's that?"

A new voice broke off their conversation. It was from someone that looked strikingly similar to Magolor, but with more hands and darker colors. The new face had four sets of eyes, a yellow set peering through white hair, and a white set where eyes normally sat.

"Who're you?" Marx shot back.

"Marx, this is Taranza. He was part of the Triple Deluxe show," Magolor explained, before turning to this Taranza guy. "Ranza, this is Marx. He helped me with everything for the Return show."

Marx looked from Magolor to Taranza. Taranza had looked sorta familiar, but he hadn't been close enough to see all the details. Triple Deluxe had been the first _big_ show after Return, and it really showed through everything that went down during it. "You two cousins or somethin'?"

By Taranza's weary sigh, the question had obviously been asked many times before. "No, we're not. We're friends."

"Good friends!"

Marx took a step back to get a better look at Magolor's friend. Like Magolor, he had a pair of horns, but they weren't covered by anything. His six hands were gloved, too; a white base with an orange thumb, wrist, and curved line over the back. He was wearing a red scarf, positioned just below his fanged mouth. His cloak was a deep green, with a spiderweb pattern across the outer side. He too wore a robe, the same shade of green as his cloak, with red patterns and a pair of gray buttons.

"Sup," Marx eventually said, unsure of what all to say.

"Hello," Taranza replied with an even voice. _Sheesh, no need to act so cold!_

Magolor looked between the two. It was easy to tell he had hoped they would be friends, but Marx doubted that would happen anytime soon.

Thankfully, the situation was saved from becoming more awkward through a shrill whistle blast. Vasert was calling an all-out meeting. Marx rushed over to where the director was, and the area soon became very stuffy due to the sheer amount of people there.

"As some of you know, and may have guessed, we're tackling our biggest show yet, and we're gonna need _everyone's_ help," she explained. "Many of you will be working both as an actor and as a member of the crew. That includes you, Kirby and Dedede." Some of the actors let out small laughs. "I would also like to formally welcome back Marx, our villain for the Super Star shows and Magolor's acting coach during the Return to Dreamland shows."

Suddenly all eyes were on him. People he didn't know whispering about him, staring at him. But there was soon a round of applause and shouts of "Welcome back!"

"Wait, what do you mean, welcome back?" Marx warily asked.

"I'm asking you to become a permanent member-"

"YES!" Marx knew he cut off Vasert. But he was now forever a part of this show. No more wondering if he'd be called in, instead _knowing_ he would be there.

The director nodded. "I'm glad you'll stay," she said, before pointing towards the large group of newbies. "Because we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Coaching?" Marx tried not to let the disappointment into his voice. What about-

"And acting in one of the starring roles of Star Allies."

Marx cut off his inner dialogue. "Star Allies, huh? Can't wait to get started!"

('.')('.')('.')

 **This was really a lot of fun to write. I know Marx and Mags get a lot of stories, but I felt that having a different take on the series as a whole might make up for it.**

 **The most difficult part about this, hands down, was trying to combine theatre elements and the boss fights. What things could a show do, and what things couldn't they realistically pull off? I know this is Kirby, but I didn't want to stray too far from things that are possible.**

 **Obviously, I don't know everything about show biz and there's bound to be a few issues and discrepancies here and there, but I put the knowledge I did have to the test. If there do happen to be any huge theatre people who know how things actually work, I'd honestly love to hear it so if I ever chose to continue down this path my information and storytelling would be more accurate, you know?**

 **But this is all for now. Criticism is highly appreciated, as always.**


End file.
